Mock Trade: Rockets Land All-Star Guard from In-State Rival

This one doesn't help the Rockets.

Feb 23, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets general manager Rafael Stone smiles before the game against the Phoenix Suns at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The 2026-27 NBA calendar year is finally upon us. The offseason has officially begun.

Teams can ink new contracts, with their own players, albeit. 

Trades can be verbally agreed to, in principle. The NBA Draft will roll around next week. Again, the offseason is here. And it figures to be a busy one, this time around. 

The Houston Rockets were once projected to be one of the league's more active teams. Understandably, as they've got holes to fill. 

However, now that the dust has settled, the early projections have begun to cool down. The buzz regarding Houston's potential interest in acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks seems to be a fading.

Ditto for Houston's rumored interest in acquiring Dallas Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving, who missed all of last season, as he recovered from a torn ACL suffered the season before. 

The Rockets have yet to make any overtures with the Mavericks to gauge Irving’s availability. Houston will definitely need guards. Losing Fred VanVleet essentially had the team crippled. 

Better yet, handicapped. We began to see players being played out of position. 

In the latest mock trade between the Rockets and San Antonio Spurs, Spurs beat writer Cal Durrett suggests Houston as a potential destination for De'Aaron Fox-- the two-time All-Star and All-NBA point guard, who hails from the greater Houston area.

In the deal, the Rockets swap Kevin Durant for De'Aaron Fox in a one-for-one swap, although the writer acknowledges that San Antonio has a boat load of draft picks and will likely need to use them to move off of Fox.

"Nearly one year after almost trading for Kevin Durant, the thought of possibly adding him this summer may not be popular among Spurs fans. Here's why trading for him now would make sense for San Antonio.

Durant, despite being a bit of a diva, would actually be a terrific fit on the Spurs. Even at 38 years old, he is a safe bet to drop 27 points on elite efficiency. Contract that with Fox, who averaged 18.6 points during the regular season and 16 points during the playoffs."

The writer continued.

"Swapping out Fox for Durant would give San Antonio a true 1A co-star for Victor Wembanyama. It would also pave the way for the Spurs to start Dylan Harper at point guard alongside Stephon Castle."

This proposal seems highly unlikely to materialize. Better yet, this simply won't happen at all.

Fox won't fetch San Antonio an All-NBA player like Durant. Also, the Rockets certainly don't want to inherit Fox's contract. 

Not even draft picks can incentivize Houston's brass to take on his deal. They already have a good amount of their own draft picks for the future.

This proposal seems rooted in the premise that San Antonio was cited as a team with interest in Durant one year ago. Which is viable, but they will absolutely not have a shot at Durant one year later. At least, certainly not for Fox.